ST. PETERSBURG, June 20. /TASS/. The Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in Iran is not a military facility and is not built to withstand a missile strike, Alexey Likhachev, CEO of Russia’s Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation, said.
"The plant is not a military facility. It is not equipped to withstand attacks by cruise or ballistic missiles," he told the YunashevLive Telegram channel.
Likhachev explained that just like any other civilian facility, the Bushehr NPP was not shielded from deliberate aggression. The facility has a protection system against earthquakes, power shutdowns and operator mistakes; it also has backup generators and an off-site power supply system for a situation where its own power generation stops, he added.
The Rosatom chief emphasized that a potential strike on the power plant would lead to a catastrophe not only for Iran but also for other countries in the region, including Israel. "It’s absolutely irrational in military and political terms. It’s clear that no uranium enrichment activity is taking place at the Bushehr plant as it is a purely civilian facility," Likhachev said, stressing that there were no grounds to attack the nuclear power plant.
Tensions around Tehran’s nuclear program flared up after Israel initiated a military operation against Iran in the early hours of June 13. Israeli attacks particularly hit nuclear facilities in Iran. Tehran carried out a retaliatory attack in less than 24 hours. Israel and Iran exchanged strikes again in the following days. Both parties reported casualties and admitted damage to a number of facilities. The two countries continue to exchange strikes.